There are bleak chances for both Lahore Lions and Eagles teams to earn any respectable place in the ongoing Quaid-i-Azam Trophy chart. As the new format of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) allows the regions to play along with departments, it is not easy for the regions to clinch any top position in the trophy against might departments.

Islamabad, Karachi and Rawalpindi regions are doing better than Lahore Lions in the gold section of the trophy, while Karachi Zebras and even lowly-rated region Hyderabad Hawks are on top of Lahore Eagles in the silver section.

The Lions are trailing at the 10th spot in the gold section with just three points from six matches. Only Peshawar Panthers and Multan Tigers are behind the Lions in the 12-team contest, where National Bank of Pakistan is in the lead with 41 points from six matches, followed by Wapda (35 points) and defending champion SNGPL (33).

The prominent scorer from Lions is Umar Siddiq (514 runs, 51.40 averages in six matches), followed by promising international Saad Nasim (317, 39.62 averages in five matches). In the bowling section, Bilawal, a medium fast bowler, tops the list for Lahore with 15 wickets at 36.80 averages. Bilawal was not selected for the Lions team which toured India to play theT20 Champions League this year, despite his impressive performance. Ali Manzoor, son of former Test all-rounder Manzoor Elahi, was preferred to him. Bilal has again proved his mettle with the ball. The second best is medium fast Mohammad Saeed (12 wickets, 33.16) and Malik Aftab (10 wickets, 39.10). Aftab made his premier event debut following his excellent performance for the Pakistan Under-19 team.

Leg-spinner Mustafa Iqbal (11 wickets for 444, 40.36) proved costly. No other bowlers could excel which shows Lions need to work on their bowling. The Eagles also got their wings clipped in a crucial match against Karachi Zebras this week and lost by seven runs. They are no more in the quarter-final race. Currently, they are the second at the bottom while Quetta Bears are behind them in Group-I. Eagles will be relegated for the next year, if they stand behind the Quetta.

Some individuals’ performances failed to save Eagles from dismal flight. Asif Raza captured 26 wickets at excellent average 17.57, followed by Shahid Nawaz (19 wickets, 19.47). In batting, only Fahadul Haq with 363 runs is noteworthy.

After completing the iron-fencing of the stadium in the Nishtar Sports Complex, the Sports Board of Punjab (SBP) has started digging three wells in the stadium it in order to improve the drainage system. Whenever it rains in the city, the catchment area of the complex remain under one to two feet water for two to three days.

First, the SBP was considering to instal a new sewerage system but now it is digging wells for the speedy flow of rainwater. In fact, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) suggested the wells to remove rainwater from the catchment area of the city, but it has failed to implement it.

The Punjab Olympic Association (PbOA) has announced it will hold the 72nd Punjab Games in the second week of January, 2015. The dates may clash with Youth Festival, an event of the SBP which is also going to be held in December and January. The relationship between both the PbOA and the SBP are not cordial, which has already caused a great damage to the sports of the province. Though new PbOA president Malik Iftikhar has written to Chief Minisiter Shahbaz Sharif for a meeting, he has yet to receive response from the government. It seems the Punjab government is not interested in improving relationship with the PbOA which is not a good news for sports.

Last week, Wounded Tiger-XI visited Lahore quietly, due to security instructions by the British High Commissioner, and played three matches in the city with different teams. It was led by a noted sports writer Peter Oborne, who has written a book on Pakistan cricket history. The visitors lost all the matches and now they are in Karachi on of the second leg of the tour.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2014